Chilling photos taken by police show the Southport killer’s bedroom and reveal the extent of the weapons armoury Axel Rudakubana amassed before the murders.
When police raided his home after he carried out the attack in Southport on July 29, they found knives, archery arrows and a mystery substance later found to be ricin, a biological toxin 6,000 times more poisonous than cyanide.
The poison was found in a sealed food container under his bed at Old School Close, Banks, where officers also found a pair of safety goggles, a lab beaker and a pestle and mortar.
A bag which had contained castor seeds, used to make the substance, was also found, having been bought in 2022.
The form the poison was found in was deemed to be “low to very low risk”.
It appeared the defendant had been sleeping in the living room, where a second kitchen knife was found which was identical to the one the defendant took to the attack.
Rudakubana killed three girls and attacked eight more, as well as seriously injuring two adults. He was sentenced to over a minimum of over 50 years in prison on Thursday.
Also at the property were a machete, 12 archery arrows and a knife identical to the one used in the attack at The Hart Space dance studio in Southport.
Several listings for what appeared to be the same knife were found to be available online, including on Amazon.
Images and documents relating to violence, war and genocide were found on his devices.
The internet browsing history on a laptop in his home was deleted shortly before Rudakubana left the house, investigations are understood to have found.
Among the items found on two tablet computers belonging to the 18-year-old were documents including A Concise History Of Nazi Germany and The Myth Of The Remote Controlled Car Bomb, the PA news agency understands.
Rudakubana is likely to die in jail after being detained for life with a minimum term of 52 years for the “sadistic” murders.
The 18-year-old was sentenced in his absence at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday after indicating he would be “disruptive” if he was present in the courtroom.
Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, died in the attack, and Rudakubana also attempted to murder eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Sentencing, Mr Justice Goose said: “He will serve almost the whole of his life in custody. I consider it likely he will never be released and he will be in custody for all of his life.”
The judge said he “must accept” that there was no evidence he acted for a terrorist cause but added that his actions were the “equivalent” of terrorist matters.
He said Rudakubana targeted these children for the “horrific extreme violence he was intent upon”.
The judge continued: “At 11.45am he arrived, walked into the building up the stairs where he could hear the sound of happy children, in his mind with the intention to murder as many of them as he physically could.
“He wanted to try and carry out mass murder of innocent, happy young girls.”
